How to improve your SEO results with long tail keywords

Does your new WordPress post include search engine optimized long tail keywords?

No, we’re not talking about Dr. Seuss characters or the latest virus to attack your computer. Long tail keywords are keyword phrases that are very specific to the products or services you offer on your website, and they will greatly improve your SEO results.

Including these words in your content is vital when it comes to attracting new customers that you may have been neglecting up until now – those who are not in the beginning of the sales cycle, but rather in a later stage, and therefore much closer to actually purchasing.

Typically, the sales process goes something like this: Shopper becomes aware of a product or service. They research the features, pros and cons, cost, etc.

Shopper becomes aware of a product or service.

They research the features, pros and cons, cost, etc.

Alternatives are considered.

They decide whether or not to buy.

They make their purchase.

They decide to keep or return what they’ve purchased.

In the past, you have probably employed SEO to target consumers which are at step one, and you may not have even been aware of this later stage potential buyer, who is typically around step 4. Now that you are, you won’t want to neglect this valuable audience. And that is where those long tail keywords come in.

You see, once this person has made the decision to purchase, they begin to plug in longer, very specific keyword phrases into the search engine. When a potential buyer makes such a very detailed search, they are no longer browsing, but instead seeking precisely what they’re going to purchase. For example, rather than “dining tables,” they search, “farmhouse dining table with bench under $800.” And in the majority of cases, the buyers conducting these long tail keyword searches are most apt to really complete the buying transaction.

Targeting potential customers who are late in the buying cycle with long tail keywords is a smart move. You can sprinkle these SEO phrases throughout the pages of your site, along with the simpler words you already use in your SEO efforts to gain those who are earlier in the buying process.

The good news is that SEO long tail keywords rank better than more common single and double word keyword phrases. This is because you have a lot of competition when you speak in broader terms. Typing “dining table” into your search engine will bring up big names like Amazon, Crate and Barrel, and Pottery Barn. “Farmhouse dining table with bench under $800,” is more likely to bring up your small second-hand furniture store, which features farmhouse tables at bargain prices.

But how do you know which long tail keyword phrases to use in your WordPress post? The best way to find out is to research which keywords prompt enough traffic to make them worth going after, and couple this research with finding out which keywords you’ll be able to rank for, based on your competitor’s sites.

Of course, coming up with a lot of different combinations of words for phrases to describe your product can make for a lot of web pages on your WordPress site. While this may mean more work for you, the plus side is that Google favors websites with a number of pages, considering them less “fluff” and more substantial than those with few pages.

To implement your plan to include your target late stage buyers in your SEO efforts, give each page on your WordPress site a different title, description meta tag, and body content that employs theSEO long tail keyword for each page. Then, in addition to focusing on the common two or three keywords that will grab the attention of buyers who are in the early stages of buying, also include the countless easy-to-rank-for long tail keywords for later stage buyers.

In order to not chance coming up with long tail keyword phases that are so specific that you get little traffic to your site, include several pages that will get you less targeted traffic and a great number of pages that will be sending you small amounts of highly targeted traffic.

If this all seems a bit overwhelming, consider hiring an SEO Content Writer to help you create the content. And if you’re still not sure it is worth the effort, think about this – Would you rather rank for one keyword that will draw hundreds of viewings a day from buyers who are simply browsing, or 100 keyword phrases that attract one qualified buyer who actually follows through in purchasing what you have to sell?